Entries from October 2017

At Toccoa, Jefferson (7-2) moved to 3-1 in region play with a 27-24 win over Stephens County Friday.
The Dragons — who fell to St. Pius X 43-29 last week — led 27-17 to start the fourth quarter after a touchdown from Colby Wood and then held on for a close victory.
Justin Cole knocked down a fourth-down pass with just over a minute left to help preserve the win.
The Dragons led 10-7 after a quarter and 17-7 midway through the second quarter after a 31-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Moore to Zac Corbin. Jefferson carried a 17-10 lead into halftime.
The Dragons will close the season next week at home against Oconee County (5-4, 2-2), which beat Madison County 28-7 Friday.
A win would lock up the No. 2 seed in the state playoffs and give Jefferson its seventh consecutive season of at least eight regular-season wins.

MILLEDGEVILLE — Coach Lance Fendley isn’t much for moral victories but Friday night’s state playoff football game for Bethlehem Christian Academy certain could qualify as one.
Given little, if any, chance by most at even staying close with, let alone defeating, defending state champion John Milledge Academy in the opening round of the GISA Class AAA postseason, the Knights more than held their own and trailed just 6-0 more than midway into the third quarter.
In the end, the host Trojans (10-1) posted a 27-0 victory but it was one they had to work for as BCA (6-5) closed out its most successful football season in program history.
Even before the final buzzer sounded, however, Fendley could be heard talking about the difference in the outcome: “turnovers.”
“That has been our Achilles heel all season,” Fendley said. “You can’t turn the football over and win football games. Our defense played well enough to win for three quarters and our offense did some good things. However, we did not take advantage of the chances we had.”
The BCA defense made a statement early in the game by forcing JMA to turn the football over on downs when Clayton Hopkins made a tackle on fourth and three with 8:33 left in the first quarter.
The Knights then began putting together an impressive drive on their initial possession of the game moving from their own 43-yard line into scoring possession. John Milledge would intercept a pass at its own 1-yard line, however, to end the scoring threat.
BCA then forced a Trojan punt and put together another strong drive against the much hyped JMA defense. The Knights marched from their own 32-yard line into the red zone again before an interception at the 2-yard line once again stopped the possession.
Fendley saw his defense force two more punts on the ensuing JMA possessions.
It appeared the teams may go into halftime scoreless but an intentional grounding call against BCA helped set in motion JMA’s lone score of the first half. The Trojans took possession at the Knights 40 with 3:00 left in the half and finally found the end zone with 1:25 left in the second quarter. The point after attempt failed to leave the score at 6-0.
BCA took the second half kickoff and set up at its own 45 after a solid return by Tanner Schwebel.
Facing a fourth and six at the John Milledge 24-yard line, the Knights just missed on a pass attempt and turned the football over. Schwebel, who finished the game with 131 yards on 19 carries, had a 34-yard run on the possession.
Once again, however, the Knights stopped the Trojan offense as Chandler Maxwell made a tackle on fourth and one at the BCA 18.
JMA recovered a fumble at the BCA 13 to regain possession and quickly put the football in the end zone on two plays. A successful two-point conversion made the score 14-0 with 5:38 left in the third quarter and for the first time all night gave coach J.T. Wall’s team a little breathing space.
A quick three-and-out by the BCA offense gave JMA the football back and the Trojans reached pay dirt once more in the third quarter for a 21-0 lead. The final score of the night came on a five-yard run with 8:20 left in the fourth quarter.
“I couldn’t be prouder of a group of players than I am of this group,” Fendley said. “They fought their tails off tonight. Things didn’t go our way in the end but it was a great effort. What these seniors have accomplished in four years has paved the way for BCA football for years to come.”
Knowing his team’s character, the BCA coach was not surprised Friday night’s game was competitive even though most of the team likely was.
“John Milledge is as advertised,” Fendley said. “We gave them a scare in the first half but at the same time we didn’t get the job done.”

MOUNT AIRY — In numerous wins this year, the overriding difference-maker for Winder-Barrow has been the dominant play of its defensive line.
That was the case again Friday night as the Bulldoggs recorded six sacks and held an explosive Habersham Central offense to just 7 points in the second half to fuel a 40-28 win over the Raiders in key GHSA Region 8-AAAAAA game.
With the win, Winder-Barrow (8-1, 3-1 region) locked up its fourth consecutive state playoff berth and will now host Dacula (5-4, 4-0) next week in a de facto region championship game.
“I’m really proud of the guys and the way they competed, and I felt like we played pretty well in all phases of the game,” said Winder-Barrow coach Heath Webb, whose team bounced back from a 38-16 loss to Gainesville a week ago. “Our defensive staff made some great adjustments at halftime and that made a huge difference in the game. We just did a really good job of hemming them up in the second half. To hold that squad to only 7 points in a half is pretty darn good.”
After a 30-yard field goal by Harlin Brown gave Winder-Barrow a 38-28 lead with 5:17 remaining in the game, the Bulldoggs turned to their defense to stop Habersham’s electric senior quarterback AJ Curry. They were up to the task. Curry was sacked on first down by defensive end Ke’von Mooney, and then, on fourth down, Logan Cash brought Curry down again back at the Raider 7-yard line with 4:20 to play.
Winder-Barrow failed to move the ball and turned it over on downs, but the Bulldoggs kept the pressure up. On the first play of Habersham’s next drive, Deondre Millwood sacked Curry for a 5-yard loss. Curry was injured on the play and had to be relieved Ryte Woodruff. After an incomplete pass, a low snap sent Woodruff scrambling toward the back of the end zone and Cash was there to corral him for his third sack of the half and a safety to put the finishing touches on the victory.
“Our guys did a great job of creating pressure all night, but the difference in the second half was how well we stuck to our lane assignments,” Webb said.
It was the eighth straight loss for the Raiders (1-8, 0-4), who were eliminated from playoff contention. They came in averaging 37 points a game and got another solid night from Curry — who passed for 267 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score — but were done in once again by a combination of a struggling defense and a high-powered Winder-Barrow offense.
The Bulldoggs racked up 439 yards of offense — 260 through the air, 179 on the ground — with senior quarterback Brock Landis leading the way. Landis passed for 192 of his 260 yards in the first half and finished with three touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown.
The Bulldoggs received the opening kickoff and went right to work, marching 66 yards on seven plays and grabbing an early lead on a 23-yard run by Landis.
The Raiders tied the game a couple minutes later when Curry hit a wide-open Jim Barnett for a 59-yard score.
The teams exchanged scores again in the second quarter as Landis connected with Jaidon Turner on a 39-yard touchdown pass before Curry came back with an 8-yard pass to Trey Wetherton, which was set up by a fumble and turnover by Winder-Barrow on a punt.
The Doggs immediately responded, though, with a quick two-play, 64-yard drive. First, Landis hit Trace Wells on a 53-yard pass down to the Raider 11, and Jamar Mack took things from there with an 11-yard sprint into the end zone to make it 21-14.
Habersham was unable to generate anything on the ensuing drive, and the Bulldoggs struck quickly again when Landis hit a wide-open Tyreek Perkins for a 66-yard score to boost the lead to 14.
The Raiders cut the lead back to 7 near the end of the half when Curry found Barnett again, this time from 16 yards out.
Landis had another touchdown pass in the third quarter, a 19-yarder to Lamonta Mack, before Curry answered with a 6-yard run early in the fourth to make it 35-28.
The Bulldoggs had other chances to score throughout the night. Their second drive, a 17-play one in which they kept the ball on the ground and chewed up eight minutes of clock, ended with a failed fake field-goal attempt inside the Habersham 10. They also missed a 27-yard field goal and turned the ball over on downs a couple of times.
But the key, Webb said, was keeping Curry and the Raider offense neutralized.
“I’m really proud of the offense for running the clock management game, which is something we don’t do a lot of but wanted to install this week so we could try to keep them on the sideline as much as we could,” Webb said. “You could see how special (Curry and Barnett) were, so even if we didn’t score every time, we were at least chewing up that clock.
“I’m just really proud of our guys for taking a game plan and putting it to work.”
Now the Bulldoggs are set to play for their first region championship since 1993 and the second one in school history.
If Winder-Barrow beats Dacula and Lanier (5-4, 2-2) beats Gainesville (4-5, 3-1) next week, the Bulldoggs will win the title outright. If they finish in a three-way tie with Dacula and Gainesville, the Bulldoggs would still claim the No. 1 seed because they hold the highest Max Preps ranking.
If Winder-Barrow loses and Gainesville loses to Lanier, the Doggs would be in a three-way tie with Gainesville and Lanier but would likely still hold the higher Max Preps ranking and would therefore be the No. 2 seed. If the Doggs lose and Gainesville wins, they would drop to the No. 3 seed.
It’s pretty straightforward for Webb and the Bulldoggs: Win and you’re No. 1.
“That’s all you could want, a chance to play for a region championship in game 10,” Webb said. “We’re where we wanted to be at this point so it’s up to us to go get it done.”
—
W 7 21 7 5 — 40
H 7 14 0 7 — 28
W—Brock Landis 23 run (Harlin Brown kick)
H—AJ Curry 59 pass to Jim Barnett (Carlos Escamilla kick)
W—Landis 39 pass to Jaidon Turner (Brown kick)
H—Curry 8 pass to Trey Wetherton (Escamilla kick)
W—Jamar Mack 11 run (Brown kick)
W—Landis 63 pass to Tyreek Perkins (Brown kick)
H—Curry 16 pass to Barnett (Escamilla kick)
W—Landis 19 pass to Lamonta Mack (Brown kick)
H—Curry 6 run (Escamilla kick)
W—Brown 30 FG
W—Safety

Taking back bragging rights came with a bonus for Jackson County.
The Panther football team avenged a 21-14 loss to East Jackson last year with a 43-7 thumping of its cross-country rivals at home on Friday night. Jackson County sealed a second-straight state playoff berth with the win.
“(It’s) very special because last year they beat us in a tough battle,” senior lineman Noah Breakspear said. “We really wanted revenge this year, and we got it. And now we’ve punched our way into the playoffs, so it was a very good win.”
The Panthers (5-4, 2-2) didn’t miss a beat running the ball without star running back Noah Venable, who continued to rest an ankle injury sustained Oct. 6 against Franklin County. In his stead, Tyler Payne returned from an injury of his own to run for a career-high 218 yards and two touchdowns. Len Hilbert added 136 yards on the ground.
“I think they did an excellent job,” Jackson County coach Brandon Worley said. “They did what was asked of them. We fine-tuned some things in practice the past two weeks, and I think they got a better feel for it. I think we definitely controlled the line of scrimmage and that helped.”
Worley said Venable “was ready to go if needed.”
Quarterback Grey Akins also had a big night, running for two scores and throwing for two more as Jackson County moved to 5-4 on the season with one regular season game left. The Panthers haven’t been above the .500 mark this late in the season since 2012.
Worley said last year’s loss to East Jackson motivated his players.
“All those kids know how bad it hurt last year, and I think they’ve been waiting on this one for a little while,” Worley said. “I think they took care of business tonight. Obviously, we had a ton of penalties. I’m disappointed in that. But other than that, a pretty solid night.”
Down 43-0, East Jackson (1-7, 0-4) moved down the field late on a host of Panther penalties and scored with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Greg Huggs to Caleb Adair with 2:28 left.
East Jackson coach Scott Wilkins expressed frustration following the loss, pointing to an early moment in the game when a pass from Huggs to R.J. White was ruled an incompletion instead of a touchdown.
“That was a huge momentum swing,” Wilkins said, adding that a similar call later went Jackson County's way.
When asked about the message he offered his team afterwards, Wilkins said, “You didn’t quit.”
Jackson County scored 27 second-quarter points to put the game out of reach by halftime.
Following a one-yard touchdown run by Payne in the first quarter, Akins scored on a 21-yard run to increase Jackson County’s lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter. Payne found the end zone again with a four-yard scoring run, pushing the lead out to 21-0 with 9:02 left to play in the second quarter. Akins then threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Collin Lewis and added a 3-yard touchdown run with 2:56 left before the half to put Jackson County up 34-0.
“They did run the ball well and we didn’t tackle,” Wilkins said. “And that’s it in a nutshell.”
Jackson County increased its lead to 40-0 with a touchdown pass from Akins to L.T. Pecht midway through the third quarter. Evan Mershon tacked on a 28-yard field goal in the waning moments of the quarter.
Worley credited the past two weeks of practice — which included an off week — for the performance, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
“I felt like we played faster than we played in a while,” Worley said. “That’s definitely because of the type of practice we’ve had for the past two weeks. Being on an off-week always scares you, but I would say it’s the best off-week I’ve ever had as a coach.”
Jackson County will turn its attention to hosting Morgan County next week on Senior Night, then the first round of the state playoffs.
“Progress,” Worley said of returning to playoffs. “… Continue to make progress, then good things are going to happen and we’re going to continue to grow.”
Breakspear is happy to have at least one more game to play.
“I didn’t want to my season to end next week,” he said. “I’m happy about that. It’s another week to play, another week to get better. So I’m excited for it.”
East Jackson closes its season next week at Hart County.

Jackson County will attempt to make a run at the Class AAA state title out of the losers’ bracket in Columbus. The once-beaten Panthers are slated to play at 4 p.m. today (Friday) against the winner of Cook County and Rutland.
Jackson County (27-8), ranked third in Class AAA, won its first-round game last night, 4-2, over Pike County, but fell to second-ranked Worth County by the same score later in the evening.
The loss snapped Jackson County’s 13-game winning streak.
The Panthers will need to reel off three straight wins in the losers’ bracket to reach the state finals.
Worth County and No. 1-ranked Calhoun are still unbeaten. They will play at 6 p.m. tonight (Friday). JACKSON CO. 4, PIKE CO. 2
Trailing 2-1, the Panthers scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to rally past Pike County in the first round.
“It kind of woke us up a little bit,” coach Chad Brannon said. “We had been kind of going through the motions to be honest … We kind of did what we did all year long and scored multiple runs in one inning and kind of broke it open.”
Brooke Simmons went 4-for-4 with a double and RBI, while Logan Wright was 3-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Others contributing offensively were Serina Bergeron (1-for-4, run), Abigail Allen (1-for-3, RBI, run) and Sara Beth Allen (1-for-1, RBI).
“We just never know who is going to step up for us,” Brannon said. “It could be any kind any given day.”
Brooke Kibbe threw seven innings for the win, allowing seven hits, two runs (both earned) and striking out two.
Simmons ended the game when she caught a liner to third and doubled off a runner to complete a double play. WORTH CO. 4, JACKSON CO. 2
Second-ranked Worth County scored a pair of runs in the third and added runs in the sixth and seventh to hand Jackson County its first loss since Sept. 16.— Zach Mitcham contributed to this report.
Sara Beth Allen homered in the fourth inning to cut Worth County’s lead to 2-1, but the Rams plated an insurance run in the top of the sixth. Jackson County appeared to tie the game in the bottom half of the inning with a two-run homer from Caroline Davis with Allen on base.
The umpire, however, ruled that Davis did not touch first base. Allen’s run still counted.
Worth County scored once more in the top of the seventh.

For a couple weeks, it seemed like things might be heading toward a showdown between defending champion Dacula and Winder-Barrow on Nov. 3 for the GHSA Region 8-AAAAAA title.
That could still happen, but Gainesville’s upset of the seventh-ranked and undefeated Bulldoggs last week jolted and has complicated the region race for the time-being.
Mathematically, with just two weeks left in the regular season, four of the six teams in the region still have a shot at taking the No. 1 seed into the state playoffs and all six still have playoff hopes alive.
Currently, Dacula leads the region at 3-0. Gainesville, Winder-Barrow and Lanier are all 2-1, and Apalachee and Habersham Central bring up the rear at 0-3.
So, what are some of the playoff scenarios for these final two weeks? I apologize in advance if any of this seems convoluted.
First, here is the schedule:
•this week — Winder-Barrow at Habersham Central, Apalachee at Gainesville, Dacula at Lanier
•next week — Dacula at Winder-Barrow, Habersham Central at Apalachee, Lanier at Gainesville
For Apalachee, it’s pretty simple. The Wildcats, who can finish no higher than fourth, need to win their final two games against Gainesville and Habersham Central to have any sort of shot at the playoffs. But that alone wouldn’t allow the Wildcats to leapfrog one of the four teams ahead of them. They would need another team to get to three losses, and the only one that would benefit them would be Gainesville. Dacula will finish at worst with two losses. Winder-Barrow and Lanier could reach three losses, but both have already beaten Apalachee and would hold the tie-breaker. Apalachee would hold the tie-breaker over Gainesville, though, and would get in. It’s also possible that Apalachee, Winder-Barrow and Gainesville could all finish with three losses and be in a three-way tie for the final two playoff spots, which would set up some sort of “mini-game” playoff, according to Apalachee coach Steve Sims.
In summation, the best and most realistic path to the playoffs for Apalachee is wins over Gainesville and Habersham Central and a Gainesville loss to Lanier last week.
For Winder-Barrow, there is a much wider range of possibilities — everything from winning the region to being on the outside looking in.
Let’s look at what it’ll take to secure a playoff bid first.
The Bulldoggs need to win one of their final two games against Habersham or Dacula to ensure themselves of their fourth consecutive postseason berth. If they lose both of those games and Habersham also beats Apalachee, the Raiders would hold the tie-breaker over Winder-Barrow.
It’s still possible that Winder-Barrow, Habersham and Gainesville could all finish with three losses. However, under that scenario, the Bulldoggs would be squeezed out because they will have lost to both those teams.
It’s also possible that Winder-Barrow, Habersham and Lanier could be tangled in a three-way tie for the final two spots at the end of next week. Under that scenario, the Bulldoggs would have to be in a mini-playoff.
In summation: The best way for Winder-Barrow to guarantee itself a playoff spot is to win at least one of the final two.
So, what about a region title, which is still on the table for the Bulldoggs?
The first step is they must win their final two games to have a realistic shot at it. Let’s assume (a dangerous thing in a region this competitive) that the three favorites in this week’s games — Winder-Barrow, Gainesville and Dacula win. The Bulldoggs could win the region outright in the final week with a win over Dacula and a Gainesville loss to Lanier. If the Bulldoggs beat Dacula, Gainesville beats Lanier and those three teams finish with one loss each, the Doggs would be seeded, according to their ranking on Max Preps, which the region is using this year to break seeding ties.
My suggestion to Bulldogg fans is to root for both Apalachee and Lanier this week. If the Wildcats and Longhorns could manage to pull those victories off, and the Doggs take care of their business, Winder-Barrow could then win the crown outright with a victory over Dacula.
Here’s one more wild-card scenario.
If Winder-Barrow, Gainesville and Lanier win this week, that means there will be four 3-1 teams entering the final week and those four will be paired against each other — all of them with a shot at winning the region.
Let’s assume for a minute that happens. Here are the four possible scenarios and how the playoff order would be for each. This is in the order from most to least favorable for the Bulldoggs.
•Winder-Barrow beats Dacula and Lanier beats Gainesville: Winder-Barrow, Lanier, Dacula, Gainesville.
•Winder-Barrow wins and Gainesville wins: Gainesville, Winder-Barrow, Lanier, Dacula
•Dacula wins and Gainesville wins: Dacula, Gainesville, Winder-Barrow, Lanier.
•Dacula wins and Lanier wins: Lanier, Dacula, Gainesville, Winder-Barrow.
In summation: If it comes to this, the Bulldoggs will need to hope for a win and a Lanier win, but if they lose to Dacula, they’ll have to pull for Gainesville so they can avoid being a No. 4 seed and having to face a No. 1 in the first round for a fourth straight season.
My advice to any players who might be reading this? Don’t pay attention to a word I’ve written. Listen to your coach and focus on what you can control.
—
Scott Thompson is the editor of the Barrow News-Journal. He can be reached at sthompson@barrownewsjournal.com.

On paper, the Bethlehem Christian Academy football team doesn’t have much of a chance this Friday.
The Knights are facing defending GISA Class AAA state champion John Milledge Academy in the opening round of the state playoffs and are catching the Trojans at a rare time. JMA lost for the first time last Friday after winning 23 games in a row, which means the Knights’ opponent will likely be even more determined and focused.
Yet, none of that rattles BCA head coach Lance Fendley and it likely will not bother his players either. In football, this is what you play for.
This is a David vs. Goliath moment that can put a still relatively new program on the map.
In 2002, I covered the George Walton Academy football team. The Bulldogs finished the regular season 5-4-1 and after a first round playoff win had to face undefeated Tattnall Square Academy in the quarterfinals.
The Tattnall Square Trojans were in the midst of a dominant run in the GISA and many were saying the 2002 team was their best yet.
TSA was a perfect 11-0 and few people gave George Walton any kind of chance of winning that playoff game.
I still recall one GWA fan telling me, “I guess we’ll make the trip to Macon and wrap up the season.”
Well, it didn’t exactly work out that way.
The Bulldogs shocked Tattnall Square and perhaps even many GWA fans with a 24-7 win. It was a prime case of why football games are won on the field and not on paper. On paper, Tattnall Square won the game easily. On the football field, it didn’t work out that way.
As BCA prepares for a similar setup this Friday, players were clearly eager for this opportunity.
“I talked to some Monday morning and they were already set to go,” Fendley said.
“To me, we couldn’t have picked a better first round opponent. Everyone has wondered how we would do against John Milledge. Well, we are going to find out Friday night.”
The BCA Knights go into the game with some momentum after thrashing rival Loganville Christian Academy last week.
Junior running back Tanner Schwebel had another huge performance with 353 yards on 20 carries with six touchdowns. Schwebel has now rushed for more yards in a season than any BCA player.
Josh Farr also rushed for 81 yards on 10 carries in the region win for the Knights.
Offensively, BCA gained more than 500 yards against LCA, including 450 on the ground.
It was the second time in 2017 that BCA has surpassed the 500-yard mark in total offense.
On the defensive side of the football, Clayton Hopkins continues to excel along with Matthew Kamm and Patrick Wallace.
BCA established a program-best six regular season wins and Fendley knows that total could have easily been higher.
“If not for turnovers, we could be 8-2,” the Knights coach said.
Friday’s game will be the toughest of the season for the BCA football team.
There’s no denying that.
But you are wrong if you think the Knights have zero chance for victory. My mind goes back to Nov. 8, 2002 when a trip to Macon saw a similar setup where one team had no chance, at least on paper.
It’s best to keep in mind that no football game has ever been won on paper.
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Winder resident Chris Bridges has covered high school football since 1988. He welcomes feedback about this column at pchrisbridges@gmail.com.

Ironically, it wasn’t East Jackson cross country coach Tomy Sitton who first spotted Shane Shelafoe.
That honor goes to former Eagle basketball coach, David Boyd, who watched Shelafoe speed through a mile run during P.E. as freshman and notified Sitton of a potential distance standout in the making.
“He said, ‘You need to get this guy out for cross country,’” Sitton said. “Then I saw him run, and I said, ‘Yeah, I need to get him out.’”
Boyd’s scouting continues to benefit the East Jackson cross country program.
Following the graduation of mainstays Chase and Chandler Kennedy last year, Shelafoe, a junior, has not only emerged as a leader of the Eagle roster but also one of the very best runners in Class AAA.
Shelafoe has won four of six races this season and his time of 15:45.80, set on Oct. 5, still ranks as the top 5K time in the classification. He’ll join the hunt for both the region and state titles as the cross country postseason begins this week.
“I wasn’t thinking I was going to get as many wins,” Shelafoe said of the season. “But I was hoping to come out and break 16 (minutes) this year. That way it puts me in a good spot towards state — and hopefully to get state.”
For the rest of this story, see the Oct. 25 edition of The Jackson Herald.